The objective of this research is to synthesize new, potent, oral estrogenic and antigonadotropic compounds that are devoid of structural features that contribute to the toxicity of the agents currently used. Oxidative metabolism of ethynylestradiol and mestranol at the C-2 position and the ethynyl side chain have been shown to cause irreversible binding in target and other tissues. The new compounds we are synthesizing have a fluoro group at the C-2 or C-4 position, so that oxidative metabolism of the aromatic A-ring should be reduced or eliminated, and have groups at the C-7 or C-11 positions that should impart enough oral estrogenic activity to estradiol that an ethynyl side chain is not necessary. The C-7 and C-11 substituents will be carefully chose to minimize specific and nonspecific serum binding to achieve more efficient delivery of the compounds to target tissues.